A Tartan to the Core: Carnegie Mellon Was a Perfect Home for Evan Gelacek ‘05
(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – When his mother was diagnosed with cancer during his sophomore year of college, Evan Gelacek knew he needed to get closer to home. After two years at Swarthmore College, Gelacek transferred to Carnegie Mellon, where he became a standout on the basketball court and in the classroom.
"I went out to Swarthmore and found that I wasn't the best fit for a very small liberal arts college. At the same time, my mom got sick and I couldn't stand being that far away from home," Gelacek said. "I wasn't very happy at Swarthmore in the first place and I sent an e-mail and letter to Coach [Tony] Wingen and told him I'd like to continue playing basketball for the rest of my career."
Gelacek, whose older brother Zak was a member of the Swarthmore basketball team during his younger sibling's freshman season, was thrilled to get into Carnegie Mellon and be able to see his mother more often as she battled metastatic stage four breast cancer.
"In August 2003, they said my mom had stage four cancer and the prognosis was really bad. I went into Coach Wingen's office and told him what I was facing. He understood completely," Gelacek said. "He and I have been good friends since that day."
After graduating from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in social and cultural history in 2005, Gelacek had a decision to make. He could continue for his doctorate and pursue a career in academia or go to law school and tackle the corporate world. Gelacek opted for the latter path and accepted a scholarship offer to the University of Pittsburgh Law School.
"I got into some really good schools across the country but ended up going to Pitt. I wanted to stay as close to my mom as possible, so when Pitt offered me a scholarship, I jumped on it," Gelacek said.
Following his graduation from law school, Gelacek accepted a position with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney in Pittsburgh, where he was an associate in the Corporate Group. At the same time that Gelacek was beginning his career in corporate law, the economy crashed and there wasn't much work coming across his desk.
"When I started, Lehman Brothers had just filed for bankruptcy. I spent my first few months sitting at my desk, reading materials and waiting because there was literally no work," Gelacek said.
Gelacek continued to learn as much as he could about the various fields of corporate law, including the investment advisory business. Practicing a novel type of legal work for the Pittsburgh market led to some clients calling him for his services. One of his clients was Firefly Value Partners, LP, a 10-person, New York-based hedge fund.
After working with Firefly for a while, Gelacek accepted an offer to become the firm's general counsel and chief compliance officer. Before he decided to move to New York City, Gelacek made certain his new colleagues were aware of his mother's health battle. When she had a rod put in her hip this past Thanksgiving, Gelacek was right by her side.
"My bosses told me to go home and be with her while she was recovering. There was never a question as to where I should be or what I should be doing," Gelacek said. "My mom is hanging in there. She's the toughest person I know."
Gelacek has a lot of that spirit himself and has not only made his mark as an attorney, but as a passionate member of the Carnegie Mellon community. A member of the Athletics Department's Advisory Committee, Gelacek has given back to the university through his time, contributions and stewardship of former teammates.
"I feel like the luckiest guy in the world that I got to come to Carnegie Mellon. It made me more determined and driven," Gelacek said. "The university really supported our team through travel all over the country, meals and giving us nice clothing to wear. Those things don't materialize out of nowhere and I want to give back and make sure that the next generation gets the same opportunities we did."
Gelacek, who was a senior on the Carnegie Mellon team that took a lead into halftime of an exhibition game with the University of Pittsburgh, is eternally grateful to call himself a Tartan.
"For me, being able to give back and say thank you is important. I'm going to continue to try and do that. I appreciate all of the things Carnegie Mellon has done for me," Gelacek said.